Cingular Says Stars Must Align for Mergers
Cingular’s COO, Mark Feidler, recently said that despite the talk of the inevitability of US wireless carrier consolidation, many hurdles exist before any mergers can take place in the next 12 months. Issues such as ownership structures, management philosophies, network technology, market coverage and branding complicate merger potential. That’s all true, but those are all rationalizations for why they haven’t happened. Carriers just aren’t desperate enough yet. For example the most likely consolidation candidate is T-Mobile. Given their strong Q3 and recent national re-branding, parent Deutsche Telekom isn’t ready to cede the US market to a merger.
